When the War Between the States came, the county seat at Graham had begun to develop as an educational, legal and business center. The war brought a general depression, and the post-war reconstruction period kept the community in a state of confusion and unrest. The TROLLINGER, Hotel, a brick building on East Elm Street was converted into a school following the war. The private school which had stood in the southwest part of town became a tobacco factory. Instead of two barrooms, the bown boasted three. In 1885, a tobacco factory was erected, and two years later two more tobacco businesses appeared. The DUKE family of Durham had an interest in these factories at one time, and it was rumored that they considered the construction of a factory of their own at Graham, but such plans never materialized. By 1890, the tobacco industry was replaced by the onrushing textile business. Lynn Banks HOLT, a son of Edwin M. HOLT founder of the first Alamance Cotton Mill moved to Graham and built a mansion southwest of the town in 1886. This home which still stands (1949) two blocks below the Graham Town hall on South Maple Street was the manor-house of Mr. HOLT's five-hundred-acre plantation. The mansion was decorated by Ruben RINK, famous artist of the time, and a cupola or tower was constructed, from which Mr.HOLT could survey his stock farm and race track. Banks HOLT hired a horse trainer from kentucky, and through him bought some of the best race horses in the country at that time. In addition to his interest in racing, however, mr. HOLT was an industrialist. He bought the Oneida Cotton Mills and started a wholesale and retail business in Graham. One of the first telephone exchanges in Alamance was set up in the SIMMONS Drug Store, today the RICH and THOMPSON building, at Graham in 1888. The town post office shared the same building for a time. In 1900, fire destroyed the original building and it was replaced by an opera house, in which many events, including the high school commencement programs, were held for some time. Before 1888, a plank road had been laid from the business district to the Graham depot, a mile away, and a stage coach was used to carry assengers and mail to and from the depot. In 1892, Graham boasted the first macadam street in Alamance County, and had in 1896 the greatest amount of macadamized roads for any town its size in the state. The towns water supply in the early days ame from a well located on the northside of the Court square, but later two additional wells were dug on the square; these served, along with private wells, until the town waterworks and electric plant was constructed in 1904. Kerosene was the principal illuminant used in the homes and for street lights for the first half century, but on December 1, 1905, the electricity was turned on. A bond election of 1920 voted $100,000 for a sewage system. The National Bank of Alamance was organized in 1899, and the Graham hose Company, the town's first voluntary fire company, was formed in 1904. In 1923, the original courthouse was replaced with the present seat of the courts, which symbolizes the main activity of Graham where many of the county, state and federal offices are located. Since WW II, Graham has made considerable growth as a residential community. The former Banks HOLT plantation has developed into an extensive community of homes, and other housing projects are underway. The business life of the town has increased slowly but steadily, But Graham's biggest asset is the quiet comfortable community life which it has offered for the past one hundred years. ==== NCORANGE Mailing List ==== Larry Noah - lrnoah@bigfoot.com - Listowner - NCORANGE mailing list Orange Co, NC USGenWeb site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncorange